


What's Good For Him

by Little_Cello



Category: Life on Mars (UK)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Gen, Humor, Teamwork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-10 00:32:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5561923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Cello/pseuds/Little_Cello
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's going to be a surprise Christmas party!</p>
            </blockquote>





	What's Good For Him

**Author's Note:**

  * For [basaltgrrl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/basaltgrrl/gifts).



> Written for the [Martian Holidays Exchange 2015](http://martianholiday.livejournal.com/tag/exchange%202015)! The prompt was: "I'd like the office staff discussing the fact that Sam doesn't have anyone to help him celebrate Christmas, and thinking of ways to make his holidays merry."
> 
> If you squint real hard through your slash goggles, there's a bit of lowkey Sam/Gene going on. Otherwise, totally Gen. /o/

'... and then I'll have something very special waiting for me, stuffed into very special stocking.'

 

Accompanied by general laughter and wolf-whistles, Ray no doubt let his colleagues know with gestures and conspiratorial grinning what exactly would be waiting for him. Annie didn't engage in the conversation, concentrating on this last report she had to finish before calling it a day.

 

'Hey, Boss!'

 

Annie looked up to see Chris looking over to Sam's desk with the man himself sitting behind it and intently filling a form with his neat handwriting. It took him a moment to stop and look up. He didn't seem annoyed, exactly, but it was obvious that he hadn't expected to be interrupted in his work.

 

Chris was oblivious to that, however, and grinned as he asked, 'What's your plan then for Christmas?'

 

Sam blinked. 'You what?'

 

'Don't think the boss knows much about that, Chris, being a grinch an' all,' Ray interjected, earning another round of laughter.

 

Sam rolled his eyes and made to continue with his paperwork, but Chris was still unperturbed. 'Going back to Hyde?'

 

Sam froze, his gaze lowered. Annie knew that Chris must have hit a sensitive spot there without realizing. Sam looked up again, slowly, his expression caught somewhere between sadness and resignation. 'No.' Then, probably aware of how despondent he sounded, he shrugged and tried to give off an air of nonchalance. 'Guess I'll have a drink by myself and get some work done – in peace, for once.'

 

'Oh.' Chris looked a little taken aback as jeers and and mutters of 'Bloody typical' and 'Should've known' arose, but before anyone else could really say anything, Gene threw open the door of his office.

 

'Tyler! Get your fairy arse in 'ere.'

 

Annie watched as Sam rose, annoyance clear on his face, grabbing his jacket and making his way over to Gene's office. He caught Annie's gaze on the way, and she tried to give him an encouraging, sympathetic smile, but was afraid that it showed pity more than anything else. He gave a half shrug, and then he was gone.

 

Immediately, conversations started up again.

 

'Work in peace? Miserable sod.'

 

'Hasn't he got parents or nothing?'

 

'Kinda sad, innit,' Chris pondered, twirling his pen.

 

'He can go cry to Cartwright about it,' Ray remarked smugly, and Annie could feel their gazes turning to her. She made a point of looking up nonchalantly.

 

Chris stopped fiddling with his pen and leaned forward, suddenly alert. 'Is he gonna be at yours? Are you two – you know - ?'

 

Again they were interrupted, as the voices from within Gene's office rose, the argument going back and forth, until Sam stormed out on his own and made a beeline for the exit, disappearing from view. Gene followed after him, bellowing, 'And don't come back til you get a confession out of the little scrote!'

 

Silence descended upon them for several long seconds, everyone staring either at the door swinging in Sam's wake, or the Guv, heaving and glaring. Then, suddenly, he clapped his hands and rubbed them together, all anger gone.

 

'Right! You lot, drop what you're doing, we have a Christmas do to plan!'

 

He was met with speechless stares. Annie gave voice to their astonishment. 'Sir?'

 

Gene walked up to them, looking irritated. 'You heard me. We have a DI who's hellbent on being miserable and pulling all of us down with him. I'll be damned if I let Sam Tyler guilt-trip me out of a merry Christmas, so chop-chop, on with your thinking caps!'

 

'You mean santa hats,' Annie muttered to herself. However, Gene seemed to have heard at least half of her sentence, and pointed a finger at her. 'There we go, Cartwright's got the right idea – hats! What else!'

 

Slowly, the other detectives seemed to warm to the idea and began to throw in suggestions of their own. Once they got into the spirit of it, more and more ridiculous ideas began to accumulate, being enthusiastically discussed by them all, so that none of them noticed Gene walking up to Annie and saying, 'You keeping a list?'

 

Having anticipated this, Annie nodded, pushing the piece of paper she'd been scribbling on in his direction. He patted her shoulder appreciatively. 'Good good. Need someone to make sure no one blows up the place with crackers.'

 

Taking this as the admission it was, Annie smiled. 'Cheers, Guv. I'll do my best.'

 

Gene nodded, clearly satisfied, and made to walk over to the others again, but Annie held him back. 'Guv – why the secrecy?'

 

He snorted. 'You don't seriously think Tyler would stand for throwing a party here, do you? Nah, that boy sometimes needs to be shown what's good for him.'

 

Annie blinked, but before she could say anything else, Gene had joined the other detectives, calling them to order. A coherent plan was beginning to form, and by the time Sam returned from whatever pretend errand Gene had sent him to do, the tasks had been divided more or less equally among them, and everyone had been sworn to secrecy.

 

Sam looked a little suspicious for a moment, taking in how everyone was suddenly very concentrated on their paperwork, or excessively casually leaning against the wall and having an intense discussion over their tea (and that lot called themselves detectives, Annie thought half resignedly and half fondly). However, before he could pull Annie (or, God forbid, Chris) aside to ask what was going on, Gene had already swooped out of his office again, pulling Sam along for another 'briefing'.

 

Annie couldn't help but laugh at the expression of confusion and exasperation on Sam's face before he disappeared out of sight. Christmas was just a few days away, so they wouldn't have to wait long to surprise him. Hopefully nobody would give anything away.

 

**

 

They did indeed make it to Christmas Eve without Sam finding out about their plan. That day, Gene once again sent Sam out on the streets for some legwork. As soon as he was gone, all of A-Division set to work to decorate the office. For once, they all accepted Annie taking the lead and directing the proceedings (she had a suspicion that Gene had made sure they wouldn't moan). As Annie watched them flit about, Chris teetering precariously on one of the chairs, trying to attach tinsel to the lamps, it once again struck her just how much effort they were all putting into something that was ultimately for Sam's benefit. He hadn't been with them for that long, and there still was a lot of conflict. However, what she was witnessing now proved that in their hearts, the men must have accepted Sam as one of them, even if they were loathe to admit it.

 

And to top things off, Gene had told Annie in private that the next morning, he would pick Sam up from his flat and take him home to have Christmas dinner with the Hunts. Annie was going to spend that day with her family and hadn't been able to invite Sam over, so she was especially grateful for this part of the Guv's plan.

 

Actually, that was the most bizarre thing about this entire plan – that it had all been the Guv's idea. He definitely was a lot more fond of his DI than he would ever let on.

 

**

 

With Annie's help, it was all set up just in time for Sam's return. They could hear the click of his cuban heels coming down the hallway – Phyllis had alerted them to his return, and A-Division lay low in the office. It was supposed to be a surprise party, after all.

 

As Annie had expected (and half feared), Sam's footsteps slowed as he realized that it was suspiciously dark and quiet. He stopped for a moment, then continued, carefully opening the double doors.

 

'… Hello?' he called, fumbling for the lights.

 

He didn't need to. Vince, stationed on the other end of the room, flipped the switch. Cheers and shouts of 'Merry Christmas!' rose and glittering snowflakes made of plastic were flung, while someone switched on the radio to play a mix tape Chris' girlfriend had prepared. Through the chaos, Annie could see Sam's wide eyes and open mouth, before Gene grabbed his arm and pulled him into the middle of it all. She couldn't hear what was being said, it was too loud all around her, but she could see Sam's expression change from confusion to realization, astonishment, and finally... gratitude. He bowed his head, and Annie thought she could see his eyes glimmering a little. Gene ruffled his short hair and pushed him into the heart of the party, and Annie decided to join in as well now, to provide Sam with a little bit of support. It promised to be a wild party, and when she saw Sam clink whisky tumblers with Ray, Annie knew that every one of them was going to enjoy it – even, and most importantly, Sam himself.

 

Mission success, she thought, looking over to Gene, who looked as satisfied as she felt.

 


End file.
